Leadermorphosis

Anna Elgh is the CEO of Svenska Retursystem, a Swedish circular economy logistics company. We talk about the transformations she has led at the company since joining in 2014, from Lean to nearly three years of moving towards self-managing teams. She shares what she has learned about transforming conflicts, distributed decision making, disbanding the management team, as well as leadership and the power of letting go.

Resources:

• Svenska Retursystem's website
• The book Lisa has co-authored with Karin Tenelius, Moose Heads on the Table
• Related Leadermorphosis episodes:
• • Ep. 55 with Frederic Laloux, author of Reinventing Organisations
  • Ep. 37 with Miki Kashtan about the inner shifts that need to happen for self-management to work
  • Ep 45. with Amy Edmondson about psychological safety and climate (vs culture)
• The Enneagram Institute
• Tuff Leadership Training

Frederic Laloux is the author of the book 'Reinventing Organisations' and one of the leading figures in the new ways of working movement, coining the term 'teal organisation' which consists of three breakthroughs: self-management, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose. We talk about how we can use juicy questions to explore new frontiers of what's possible in our organisations and lives. Questions like: "Where are you participating in a system where you're actually out of integrity?" Frederic shares examples from conversations he's had with CEOs of big corporations and inspiring stories he's encountered of radical initiatives that have come from all levels of organisations.

Resources:

• Transcript of our conversation here
• The Reinventing Organisations website
• Frederic's library of more than 100 'Insights for the Journey' videos
• • Here's the one on 'growth pain' we reference
  • And the one about the leader of the hospital
• A video about Interface being a circular economy company from Meaning Conference
• The book Wilful Blindness by Margaret Heffernan

Bill Fischer is a Professor of Innovation Management at IMD and Simone Cicero is the cofounder of Boundaryless and co-creator of the Platform Design Toolkit. We talk about what they have learned from years of studying and collaborating with the Chinese company Haier Group, whose Rendanheyi organisational model has been praised internationally as one of the most revolutionary management ideas of the 21st century. Our conversation explores the extraordinary leadership of CEO Zhang Ruimin, eliminating bureaucracy, designing an organisation to enable thousands of self-managed microenterprises, and what this model means for the future of work.

How to follow Bill and Simone:

• Twitter: @bill_fischer and @meedabyte

You can read the transcript version here.

Resources:

• Link to sign up for Bill and Simone's RenDanHeYi masterclass in October (link gives you a 25% discount with the code LEADERMORPHOSIS)
• The EEEO Toolkit Draft Download webpage (a set of tools to support the creation of an Entrepreneurial Organisation)
• The Boundaryless Haier webinar YouTube playlist
• Corporate Rebels' post about Haier
• Bill's chapter 'Ecosystems as an engine for innovation and learning' in the book 'Ecosystems Inc'
• Bill's IMD profile where you can find more of his publications
• Simone's interview with Bill on the Boundaryless podcast
• Alicia Hennig's paper on Daoism in Management

Jabi Salcedo and Dunia Reverter are coordinators at K2K Emocionando, a Spanish consultancy that has transformed more than 85 organisations from traditional to self-managing over the last two decades. We talk about the radical components of their methodology, such as removing manager roles, balancing salaries, shared decision-making and profit sharing. Jabi and Dunia share what they've learned from the transformations they have been part of, the kinds of shifts they've seen, and what some of the biggest challenges can be.

How to follow Dunia:

• Twitter: @reverter_dunia

Resources:

• My blog about the 10 components for abolishing hierarchy that K2K employs in their transformations
• The signup page for the NER by K2K Advanced Online Seminar in English, starting on the 23rd of September 2020
• Corporate Rebels' blogs about K2K and their pioneering founder, Koldo Saratxaga

Jorge Silva is the co-founder of 10Pines, a self-managing software development company in Argentina. We talk about three key practices they have as a horizontal organisation, what they're learning, and Jorge's vision to spread this way of working in South America.

How to follow Jorge:

• Twitter: @jor_silva

Resources:

• A web page about 10Pines' culture
• Jorge's blog about how 10Pines does recruitment
• More about Loomio, the tool they use for decisions
• The Leadermorphosis episode with Anabel Montiel from Nearsoft, a self-managing software company in Mexico

Mark Eddleston, new ways of working consultant and coach and cofounder of the Reinventing Work movement, interviews Lisa Gill as they look back on 50 episodes of the Leadermorphosis podcast. Which conversations have changed their thinking? How has the podcast evolved? What is the next phase of the new ways of working movement?

How to follow Mark:

• Twitter: @marco_eds

Resources:

• Reinventing Work website
• Mark's website
• The book Lisa Gill and Karin Tenelius have written, Moose Heads on the Table
• Leadermorphosis episodes we referred to:
  • Margaret Wheatley
  • Miki Kashtan
  • Helen Sanderson
  • Skeen Rathor
  • Buurtzorg nurses
  • Chuck Blakeman
  • Gary Hamel

Dr Tjanara Goreng Goreng is a Wakka Wakka Wulli Wulli Traditional Owner from Central Queensland, Australia, and Robyn Katz is the founder of Talkpoint, which curates peer-to-peer learning experiences to humanise work. We talk about Tjanara's PhD research which draws parallels between aboriginal culture and eldership, and Robert Kegan's psychological development research and the idea of "sacred leadership". Both women share what they have learned through their own personal transformation journeys, and what's needed now in the world in terms of leadership development.

Resources:

• Talkpoint page featuring videos and other content about Tjanara's sacred leadership doctorate
• OneINMA Global (website for sacred leadership mentoring, programs and transformational leadership consulting)
• Tjanara's book "A Long Way from No Go"
• Leadermorphosis episode with Margaret Wheatley talking about warriors for the human spirit
• About Theory U

Peter Koenig has spent the last decade researching principles for how founders organise and materialise their enterprises, projects and initiatives – what he calls sourcework. We talk about the role of source and source principles and the idea of seeing organisations as energetic fields. We talk about why his work has sparked debate in "new ways of working" circles, as well as how we can use the lens of source to diagnose decentralised organisations when we seem to get stuck. Peter also shares some insights from 30 years of running money seminars, and why money is such a great place to hide our deepest shadows.

Resources:

• Upcoming money workshop (based on Peter's work) by Tim Malnick
• The Role of Source introduction workshop by Tom Nixon
• A website about source principles curated by Tom Nixon
• Peter's website
• Tom Nixon's blog about Reinventing Organisations and source (with a comment from Frederic Laloux at the end)
• Frederic Laloux's video on new roles for top leaders, including the role of source
• Peter's book 30 Lies About Money

Luz Iglesias, Director of Recruitment, and Edwin Jansen, Head of Corporate Development, work at Ian Martin Group, a self-managed, teal recruitment company with 400 employees across Canada and India. They share examples and stories of the initiatives, decisions and creativity that have sprung up in response to the COVID-19 pandemic without any central coordination, and how adaptability and humanity can flow freely in a self-organised system because of the mindset shift it facilitates. As former managers, they reflect on how liberating it is to distribute the responsibility of responding, strategising and taking care of people operations.

How to follow Ian Martin Group:

• Twitter: IanMartinGroup

Resources:

• Leadermorphosis episode with Edwin Jansen about Fitzii, part of Ian Martin Group
• Book: The Decision Maker by Dennis Bakke
• Video: Luz talking about decision-making and IMG's 'teal operating system' from Loomio
• About Patrick Lencioni's "thematic goal" concept
• Leadermorphosis episode with Aaron Dignan, author of Brave New Work

Skeena Rathor, who co-leads the Vision Sensing circle in Extinction Rebellion, shares insights from inside this decentralised movement – how their Holacratic, Sociocratic structures support its collective purpose, the work they're doing with Miki Kashtan to transform power dynamics, and why Skeena's dream is for XR to become a touchstone for the work of co-liberation. We also talk about how XR is responding to COVID-19 and their AloneTogether campaign.

How to follow Extinction Rebellion:

• Twitter: @ExtinctionR

Resources:

• Extinction Rebellion's website and its AloneTogether handbook
• The Leadermorphosis podcast episode with Miki Kashtan
• Aimee Groth's article about XR that mentions 'shadow work'
• Palmer Parker's thoughts on paradox
• Naomi Klein's Shock Doctrine
• Frederic Laloux's video on two types of pain along the journey